A Dutch delegation from the water sector will be visiting Saudi Arabia on May 16-17.
The delegation’s focus will be on water treatment technologies and delta technology, according to Rob Dekker, head of economic and commercial affairs at the Royal Netherlands Embassy.
Water treatment technologies include drinking water supply (desalination and groundwater), wastewater management and sanitation, water reuse, industrial water treatment and irrigation technologies.
Delta technology, on the other hand, includes water construction (ports, dikes, and bridges), living with water concepts like floating constructions, coastal management and flood management.
The delegation’s main theme will be “Clean water availability for the future — the Dutch approach.”
On May 16, the members of the mission will meet with the private sector at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) and on the following day they will meet with government agencies at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). These agencies include the Ministry of Water and Electricity, Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Water Electricity Company, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and the Riyadh Development Authority.
The visit is being organized by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Netherlands Water Partnership and Marcom Arabia and is supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
The Kingdom hopes to benefit from the visit. It relies heavily on water desalination for its fresh water. At present there are 30 desalination plants in the Kingdom that provide 576 million gallons a day of fresh water, accounting for 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s water supply and 25 percent of the world’s desalinated water production.
The water sector will require SR200 billion ($53 billion) in investments by the year 2020 to keep up with the Kingdom’s growing consumption.
As part of its privatization drive, the Saudi government is looking to foreign firms to help with its expansion of the water sector.
The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has signed contracts with legal, strategic, financial and technical advisers to develop a comprehensive plan for the privatization of the state-owned water company with a deadline for completion as early as 2008.
In 2001, the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu founded the Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu known as Marafiq. This company is responsible for planning and developing power and water utilities in Jubail and Yanbu Industrial Cities.
Another major development took place in May 2003 with the establishment of a new company called Water & Electricity (WEC), between Saline Water Conversion Corp. (SWCC) and Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) to carry out independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) in partnership with the developer. There are three IWPP projects under bidding at Shuqaiq (Phase 2), Ras Al-Zour, and Jubail (Phase 3), another IWPP project at Shuaiba has been awarded to a Saudi-Malaysian consortium.
The four projects will have an output of 2,046,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day.
